Why Love?

I guess you could say that I’m a person who looks at life, love, religion, and politics through a different lens than most. You see, I was born and raised in a home that taught me to love and follow Jesus Christ. My parents are amazing, without a doubt better than I deserve. We don't always see eye to eye on everything, but I just pray that I make them half as proud as I am of them. They took me to church every Sunday, Wednesday, and any other day there was something going on. At times it drove me crazy, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything now.

My parents definitely had a major impact on the person that I am today. Parents can do their best, but they can't determine a person's path. So just as everyone else does, I made my own choices as I grew up and became an adult. Many of those choices affected my outlook and my experiences. Some of my friends know my past and know the struggles I've dealt with. In fact, I’m not shy about sharing it. If you want to know just ask, my past has made me who I am today. My past is what teaches me to look at things in a way that’s a little bit out of the box. I’ve been that lost girl who didn’t have a clue where to turn, that woman going through struggles that no woman should have to face, that soul in need of grace and forgiveness when all I deserved was condemnation. Until you’ve been in those positions you just don’t understand.

When I see a woman on the side of the road begging for money, I remember that without the amazing people God has put in my life that could very well be me. When the girl sits down across from me in my office to apply for assistance, I remember what it was like to have to depend on others to survive. Most of all though when I see someone so bogged down with the dirt and grime that this world and sin often drags us through, I see the person that Christ chose to die for. You see, it wasn’t just me or you He came for…it was every single nasty, disgusting, ugly individual on this earth. My past reminds me to put that in perspective. It's difficult for many of us to understand how people fall to the places that they do. We have to make a conscious effort to see the soul loved by God and full of value. 

So when you see that person who is so full of hate for the things of God look at them with the love that so many choose not to give them. Show them that even though they don’t agree with you and see things the way you do that you love them because that’s what we’re called to do. We hear so much about the fight against Christianity. Our world is a fallen world. The world can be expected to act like the world every day, and it really shouldn't surprise us. It can lead us to our knees. It can lead us to love with an amazing love. That is how the fight is won. Yes, we must share the gospel and preach the truth (II Tim. 4:2). It all has to be done in love, because without love we are doing nothing but making noise (I Cor. 13:1). The most tremendous battle of all was won with Jesus Christ’s amazing love and sacrifice on Calvary. That is our victory. His sacrifice is the hope of this world. If we don't get that and we don’t live that then so many will miss out on what they could have.